It’s been so long coming; after its 2022 launch in Europe, New Zealand finally gets its hands on the van everyone seems to want.
VW New Zealand are quick to point out that one of the factors behind the delay in launching the car here was because of its popularity; the company in Europe received 20,000 pre-orders for the funky new van.
There is a benefit in having to wait so long to get the ID.Buzz: upgrades. For 2025, the model being sold here now comes with an all-wheel drive variant, a long wheelbase model, different seating options, a larger 91kWh battery pack, a larger infotainment system with an updated UI (the same that’s in the new Tiguan), and rear electric sliding windows.
Lots of buzzwords were thrown about at the launch, like ‘icon’ and ‘game-changer’. VW New Zealand’s Commercial Manager was adamant that 80% of the vans sold would end up with some name, such will be the feeling and emotions around the new van. It will become part of the family, he says.
This is the first-ever full EV from Volkswagen, and it’s built on their MEB platform – one that’s made purely for EVs.
VW ID.Buzz: target markets
VW are not shy in telling us who they are targeting in their marketing efforts:
- Empty nesters
- Those with or who want an emotional connection with their ID.Buzz
- B2B (Business to Business)
There is no doubt that high-profile companies will see the ID.Buzz as a chance to use the van as a statement, covered in their colours or wrapped to show off the van’s styling. And it is stylish, in fact winning the 2025 World Car Design of the Year award.
While they’re not calling it a Kombi, at the launch of the new ID-Buzz, mention was made that production of the Kombi dates back some 75 years, and it was designed in 1946.
VW ID.Buzz: Models
The ID.Buzz is only available as a full battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and is fitted with a battery pack ranging from 84kWh in size (79 usable) to 91kWh (86 usable) depending on the model.
New Zealand sees four models;
ID.Buzz Cargo – $114,990
ID.Buzz Pro NWB (Normal Wheelbase) – $129,990
ID.Buzz Pro LWB (Long Wheelbase) – $139,990
ID.Buzz GTX (long wheelbase) – $149,990
The cheaper three models are rear-wheel drive (RWD), while the GTX is all-wheel drive.
The NWB model is rated for 382km on the WLTP cycle and has the smaller battery, while the LWB is rated at 403km and the GTX at 396km – both of those models are fitted with the larger battery.
Power output for the RWD models is 210kW, with 560Nm of torque. The GTX is rated with a power output of 250kW and torque of 560Nm.
The vans are heavy with those chunky battery packs, with the NWB model weighing in at 2,583Kg kg and the GTX at 2,897kg. This may contribute to the relatively high energy consumption figures of between 22.5 and 23.7kWh/100km.
Three years (45,000km max.) scheduled servicing is included in the purchase cost.
VW ID.Buzz: Specs
With the high pricing comes high specifications. It’s not a complete list, but as standard the three passenger Buzzes are fitted with:
· Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
· 360-degree camera
· LED matrix headlights
· Electric sliding doors and tailgate
· Ambient lighting (30 colours)
· Three-zone AC
· Power & heated front seats with “massage” feature
· Armrests both front sides, left and right
· Wireless Android Auto & Apple Car Play
· 9-speaker audio
· Qi wireless phone charging
· A 12.9” centre touchscreen
Wheels range in size from 19, 20, and 21”.
There are some tasty options for your ID.Buzz, with many of the vans we would drive today having them fitted.
A full-length panoramic roof is a $4,000 option, but it does come with the ability to cloud over with the press of a button – so no blind is needed. There is a combo package of a heads-up display and a Harmon Kardon sound system for $3,500, along with some wheel options – including some very cool retro-designed wheels.
VW ID.Buzz: Space
The NWM ID.Buzz is a 5-seater only, but you can option up to six seats (three rows of two) for $2,400. The LWB and GTX models are seven-seaters but can be made into six seats at no cost.
Storage space ranges from 306 litres with the third row up, to 1,340 with the third row removed, to 2,469 litres with the third row removed and the second row folded flat.
VW ID.Buzz: Colours
There is zero doubt that this is one of the most important models out there for colour choice. There are seven single colours, and you can pick one of those at zero cost.
If you want the two-tone option to really make your ID.Buzz look like a Kombi, they all carry a $5,200 cost – but look outstanding. I expect 75% of ID.Buzzes that aren’t going to be wrapped will be two-tone, if not more.
The GTX model has a two-tone Mono Silver/Cherry Red option, and this is a $3,200 option.
VW ID.Buzz: Drive Impressions
In the flesh, these vans look even better, with the two-tone models standing out from everything else on the road. Our first ID.Buzz is finished in Candy White/Pomelo Yellow, and looks amazing. We got in the cheapest passenger model, the Pro NWB, for a drive to Piha. That meant windy roads – a good test since VW New Zealand went on about just how well these vans drive.
Initially, I struggled to get a smooth take-off; performance off the mark is very brisk, so it doesn’t need much ‘gas’ to get it going. In Auckland city traffic, it feels both big and small. This might be down to the sheer spaciousness of the cabin, and also the windscreen seems a mile away from the driver.
Checking out the interior some more at a red light, the lighter upholstery colour works so well. Our first ID.Buzz is fitted with the optional panoramic roof, and it bathes the interior in natural light. There’s a haptic (touch) button on the roof console to make it cloud over, instead of having a blind.
On the motorway, I’m surprised there’s no traffic sign recognition on any ID.Buzz, but perhaps this will be added later. The van drives very well and surely does feel like driving a car in many respects. Driving on the motorway, it’s relatively quiet and all that glass and the huge cabin make it feel like you have more than enough room. Literally, there is plenty of space.
The dashboard is fairly small – still clear and crisp, but definitely on the smaller side. Our ID.Buzz is fitted with the optional heads-up display (that includes the upgraded sound system) and that display means you don’t need to look at the dashboard often. I can see this being a popular add-on, although at $130K I would have hoped it would be standard equipment.
The ID.Buzz has two brake regeneration (regen) modes, worked off the steering-wheel column selector. In Drive, there’s almost no regen and the van will coast along. Twisting the gear selector again will put the van into ‘B’ mode, giving it more regen. It’s not one-pedal driving, but does give the van some extra stopping power – and puts a bit of extra charge into the batteries.
Ride quality is a bit of a mixed bag; it’s supple on most road surfaces, and speed bumps and the like don’t have much effect on the ID.Buzz. When we eventually get to the windy road out to Piha, potholes and short, sharp bumps do tend to make the ride a bit more jiggly. But on those windy roads, the suspension does a reasonable job of keeping that 2.5-ton weight in check. You can always feel the van’s weight, but it does well to mask it most of the time.
After lunch, we grab the all-wheel drive, top-spec GTX model (finished in Mono Silver and Cherry Red) for the drive back to the city. You can feel the extra 40kW of power in this model – not hugely faster, but noticeably punchier off the mark. On those twisty, windy roads, I couldn’t really feel the all-wheel drive working, but perhaps that just goes to show that the rear-wheel drive is very well done in the suspension department. The interior of all GTX models is black with some red piping on the seats, and it feels a lot more closed-in. If you are going to buy the GTX model, splash out for the panoramic roof.
VW ID.Buzz: Summary
Today was just a taster for the new VW ID.Buzz; first impressions are pretty good. Yes, expensive, but also it feels pretty damned refined and absolutely focused on its target markets.
We will book a model in for review, and spend a week with the 2025 ID.Buzz and see how it stacks up.
